What a great weekend thus far. Meredith’s parents came back to Ohio on Thursday and brought us whoopie pies (yum!), and we ate at a local Mexican restaurant, Mariachis, which was very good (I had a chicken and a beef burrito).

Friday was CVCA’s staff picnic. It was a perfect day, and I ate way too much dessert (I was slightly queasy afterwards). We stuck around for the football game; high school football is an enjoyable time. You get to watch football, listen to the band, and chat with people you know. Our team went up very quickly (it was 42-0 at halftime), so even early in the second quarter lots of our players had a chance to play. I did feel badly for the other team; I don’t like to see things so one-sided. The other team had real trouble holding on to the ball – they fumbled every single kick-off (they did not lose any, but it still pinned them deep every time), and they had several turnovers in the first half. We stuck around through the half time show (go, band and flag corps!) to see students we know perform. Since our team was way out in front, the four of us went home. Mer and I were sleeping in our back bedroom, so we could still hear the game faintly. As far as I can tell, the other team did finally score, and it sounds like the fans went crazy. Since there were only about 20 fans on the other side, that would mean our fans went nuts for the team. I hope so – it would have been a good gesture.

Saturday was another beautiful day. I had a good one-hour run (7-8 miles), then mowed the lawn, and then fixed two screens on our sun-room porch. Now, the kitties can look out at nature all day, and they seem to like it. We like the cross breeze. We still have no furniture out there, so it will be awhile before we spend any real time on the porch. I took a much-needed shower, and then the four of us went to the Vue restaurant in Hudson. It is a French/American restaurant (I was able to have a burger and some of the best fries I have ever had), but the real attraction was sitting out on the restaurant patio on a gorgeous day. Mer and I were even able to treat since Mer had received a gift certificate to the Vue from last year’s senior class. The tents in the background are the setup for the Taste of Hudson (you may have heard of the smaller cousin, the Taste of Chicago). We then walked a few blocks to Main Street Cupcakes, where Mer and I had cupcakes with cookie dough baked into them (mmmmmmmmmmm). We then went home, and I had a nap. We later took a walk in the evening. What a nice day!

Today has been very mellow; we went to the Hudson Community Chapel, where we heard a sermon about taking rest in Jesus, and taking that rest seriously (being one of the Ten Commandments and all). The idea is that our identity and value comes from Jesus, and so we can rest in him; if our value comes from work (or anything else), the relentless pace of work would not allow us any rest. taking this to heart, I went home and slept for four hours (I was pretty tired). It is another perfect day out, so I hope to go for a walk again later today. Tomorrow we are heading over to Aunt Mary’s house for burgers. This is a pretty great weekend!